Monday, May 20, 2013

In case you're not getting enough. . ..

5 Super Stealthy Facts About 'Star Trek' Baddie Benedict Cumberbatch

Hehas successfully stolen the spotlight from his ensemble cast mates and blushingly touts his growing fan base of so-called Cumberpeople.

With the enormous amount of buzz that has been bestowed upon the star villain in "Star Trek Into Darkness," along with a four more films coming out this year, Benedict Cumberbatch is truly the man of the moment.

The 36-year-old actor first grabbed the attention of "Star Trek" reboot director J.J. Abrams as the leading man on the hit BBC show "Sherlock." And while he seems relatively fresh on the scene in the U.S., Cumberbatch has been entertaining British audiences since he was a boy in London performing Shakespeare plays in school.

After his college years, Cumberbatch started out on the London stage. His onscreen career started picking up steam in 2002 with British television parts – and very soon after, in 2003, movie roles started coming his way. His list of credits include former Oscar contenders "Atonement," "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," "War Horse," and "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." (Cumberbatch is the evil Necromancer!)

But even in those impressive titles, Cumberbatch was a supporting cast member. "Into Darkness" marks his time to shine in a leading role and launches the start to a huge year for the actor. He is reprising his Necromancer role in the next two "Hobbit" installments and is voicing the dragon Smaug – a part for which his physical moves were also motion-captured. He is playing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in the biographical film "The Fifth Estate" and is set to star opposite Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep in the dramatic comedy "August: Osage County."

Cumberbatch is in five films total this year and has still managed the time to star in "Sherlock" – a seemingly impossible feat for any actor.

Since we will be seeing a lot of this guy in the coming months, let's review these telling and covert Cumberfacts:

5. He was worried about his 'Star Trek Into Darkness' role.

Shortly after Cumberbatch accepted Abrams's offer to play the villain in the second "Star Trek" installment, he ran into "Star Trek: The Next Generation" show alums Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard) and Brent Spiner (Data). As Spiner told the story on a Nerdist podcast last year, Cumberbatch approached the two at a London restaurant. "I've just agreed to do the new 'Star Trek' movie… Is it going to damage my career?" Spiner recalls Cumberbatch asking. Spiner said he replied jokingly, "Listen Benedict, you'll never work again after this."

4. He almost wasn't an actor.

"My parents worked incredibly hard to give me a very privileged education so I could do anything but be as stupid as them and become an actor," the "Into Darkness" actor said recently. Indeed, Cumberbatch intended to be come a lawyer at the urging of his thespian parents – who were both working actors. “Unfortunately I didn’t pay any attention, like a lot of children, to my parents's wise words," he said.

3. He moonlights as an audiobook reader.

The next time you buy a book on tape, listen much more attentively to the person reading the prose. Cumberbatch has lent his voice to many audiobooks including – fittingly -- a Shakespeare title and "Sherlock Holmes: The Rediscovered Railway Mysteries and Other Stories." He has also done voice over work for Jaguar, Sony, and Google+ commercials.

2. He is currently single.

Cumberbatch had been a steadfast boyfriend to his college classmate Olivia Poulet… up until recently. The two dated for twelve years. But recently on Britain's "The Graham Norton Show," the actor referred to his "ex-girlfriend." Ladies, the door is now wide open.

1. He is a red head.

He has been dying his hair black for a while for "Sherlock" and kept it dark for "Star Trek." Low and behold, Cumberbatch has much lighter auburn hair. You can see his decidedly lighter hair in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."

I though Cumberbatch was excellent in a paper-thin role. He made it work, even after the viewer found out who he really was. The case could be made that this was another example of Hollywood whietwashing (casting a white actor in an ethnic role), but since Cumberbatch dominated the screen every moment he was on, one could argue that he was the right actor for the part.

Yes, I am. I mention no spoilers, in case you care. I do not like JJ Abrams take on the Star Trek franchise. As he has admitted many times, he was never a fan of the series and I think it shows. I do think Into Darkness was better than the film, but in my view it couldn't have been any worse. That said, Cumberbatch was excellent in it.

Jay Finlay Christ's Abbreviations

BBE -- The Adventure of the Abbey GrangeBERY -- The Adventure of the Beryl CoronetBLAC -- The Adventure of Black PeterBLAN -- The Adventure of the Blanched SoldierBLUE -- The Adventure of the Blue CarbuncleBOSC -- The Boscombe Valley MysteryBRUC -- The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington PlansCARD -- The Adventure of the Cardboard BoxCHAS -- The Adventure of Charles Augustus MilvertonCOPP -- The Adventure of the Copper BeechesCREE -- The Adventure of the Creeping ManCROO -- The Adventure of the Crooked ManDANC -- The Adventure of the Dancing MenDEVI -- The Adventure of the Devil’s FootDYIN -- The Adventure of the Dying DetectiveEMPT -- The Adventure of the Empty HouseENGR -- The Adventure of the Engineer’s ThumbFINA -- The Final ProblemFIVE -- The Five Orange PipsGLOR -- The Gloria ScottGOLD -- The Adventure of the Golden Pince-nezGREE -- The Greek InterpreterHOUN -- The Hound of the BaskervillesIDEN -- A Case of IdentityILLU -- The Adventure of the Illustrious ClientLADY -- The Disappearance of Lady Frances CarfaxLAST -- His Last BowLION -- The Adventure of the Lion’s ManeMAZA -- The Adventure of the Mazarin StoneMISS -- The Adventure of the Missing Three-QuarterMUSG -- The Musgrave RitualNAVA -- The Naval TreatyNOBL -- The Adventure of the Noble BachelorNORW -- The Adventure of the Norwood BuilderPRIO -- The Adventure of the Priory SchoolREDC -- The Adventure of the Red CircleREDH -- The Red-Headed LeagueREIG -- The Reigate SquiresRESI -- The Resident PatientRETI -- The Adventure of the Retired ColourmanSCAN -- A Scandal in BohemiaSECO -- The Adventure of the Second StainSHOS -- The Adventure of Shoscombe Old PlaceSIGN -- The Sign of the FourSILV -- Silver BlazeSIXN -- The Adventure of the Six NapoleonsSOLI -- The Adventure of the Solitary CyclistSPEC -- The Adventure of the Speckled BandSTOC -- The Stockbroker’s ClerkSTUD -- A Study in ScarletSUSS -- The Adventure of the Sussex VampireTHOR -- The Problem of Thor Bridge3GAB -- The Adventure of the Three Gables3GAR -- The Adventure of the Three Garridebs3STU -- The Adventure of the Three StudentsTWIS -- The Man with the Twisted LipVALL -- The Valley of FearVEIL -- The Adventure of the Veiled LodgerWIST -- The Adventure of the Wisteria LodgeYELL -- The Yellow Face